Research On The Function Evolutionof Tianheng Sea Sacrifice Festival From The Perspective Of Social Change

Modernization is a process of doing away of superstition, and social life isbecoming more and more rationalized. Some scholars have put forward the views thatregional beliefs are disappearing in modernization. Tianheng Sea Sacrifice Festival,together with the other prosperous sea sacrifice festivals in southeastern coast areaand both sides of Taiwan Straits, reveals that sea-god beliefs, as a folk belief, still hasstrong vitality nowadays. Modernization provides abundant economic basis for seasacrifice activities, facilitates changes of sea sacrifice festivals, makes the functionsmeet the trends of social development, and highlights vigor of sea sacrifice festivals.The connotation of sea sacrifice festival has transcended traditional scope,becoming a marine culture form with strong regional characteristics, considerablemass basis and attention of local authorities in Qingdao area. There are numerousdisciples of sea-god and various gods to be believed in coastal area of China.However, the abundant marine cultural phenomenon had not been taken seriouslyenough over a long period of time. Recently, our consciousness has been awake andthe academic research is warming up. Studies of Tianheng Sea Sacrifice Festival aregradually coming into scholars’ view.Culture, function and requirement are the core concepts of functionalism.Meanwhile, the social and cultural phenomenon of human society in functionalismpresents to meet the needs of certain reality. The sixth plenary session of theseventeenth central committee pointed out that the excellent traditional culture ofChinese nation’s spirit of unremitting self-improvement embodied the pursuit and thespiritual wealth. In recent years, sea sacrifice activities are becoming increasinglyactive, relate to more than10provinces and cities along the coast of China, andextend to the interior like Dali Yunnan and Xining Qinghai. Tianheng Sea SacrificeFestival in Qingdao Shandong is particularly outstanding for its grand scale andprofound influence. Tianheng Sea Sacrifice Festival, as a social and culturalphenomenon, displays the local folk characteristics and marine cultural vitality, and isclosely combined with the national fishing policy, ecological construction, thedevelopment of tourism, cultural industry and non-material heritage protection.This research paper, in accordance with the law of evolution, divides thedevelopment of sea sacrifice festival into three stages from the social perspective. Thefirst stage, from the Ming Dynasty to the reform and opening up when the socialdevelopment was fell behind, offers the sea sacrifice spontaneously, and the functionis to seek asylum and fishing. The second stage is, when Zhougezhuang Villageexperienced the reform and opening up, that the society developed rapidly and the seasacrifice festival gradually formed the scale till the end of the1990s, and coherence is the main function of this period. The third stage is the period of development inTianheng Sea Sacrifice Festival, which formed mainly by economic function, culturalfunction, and entertainment function, when Zhougezhuang Village developed rapidlyin economy since the new century. Meanwhile, the festival obtained great attention oflocal government, and the official sacrifice played a great role in promoting the seasacrifice festival. The research, in order to study the evolution of the function ofTianheng Sea Sacrifice Festival in500years, explores the social development of thehost venue where sea sacrifice festival was held over three periods. In the end of thepaper, local social development on the sea sacrifice festival is predicted, and theauthor infers the developing trend of functions in sea sacrifice festival, in hope ofbeing helpful to the sustainable development of sea sacrifice festival.